Mortimer Forest Geology Trail

Edited by Andrew Jenkinson and illustrated by Gillian Jenkinson and John Norton

This small, yet informative, booklet takes you on a four-mile walk to 13 sites and through 15 million years of Earth history.

The Mortimer Forest Trail is a geology trail in Shropshire that is famous for its outstanding fossils and varied geology. The trail mostly examines Silurian formations such as the Wenlock and Ludlow series.

The book firstly outlines the history of research and how the rocks were laid down. The book then takes the reader through all of the various fossil groups that can be found along the trail, including corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, gastropods, cephalopods, trilobites and graptolites. In this way, the reader is introduced to what these fossils are, how they lived and where they can be found.

Each location along the route is then described with information given on what can be found and on the detailed geology. For those who wish to concentrate on fossils or rocks, both of these topics are covered under separate headings to make the book ideal as a field reference tool. Sketches of fossils maps and safety notes are also included for each location.

Mortimer Forest Geology Trail, edited by Andrew Jenkinson and illustrated by Gillian Jenkinson and John Norton,  Scenesetters Shropshire (2000), 24 pages (paperback), ISBN: 1874200092